Heart of Ice
by Bluefire Eternal
Summary: AU A kit was found in the snows near ThunderClan's camp. After giving birth to a stillborn litter, Squirrelflight agrees to nurse the white kit. But all is not well. Ever since the night of Rainwhisker's mysterious death, Brambleclaw's been strange.
1. Prologue: Dara's Words

**Disclaimer: I will say this once and only once. I do not own any characters, plots, or anything related to the _Warriors _series. That solely belongs to Erin Hunter. I own all original characters, locations, and plots relating to this story.**

**Hello everyone and welcome to my latest story, _Heart of Ice_. This story will hopefully be my best one yet, as I've been learning how to write better. As you can see in the description, this story is an AU that roughly begins five and a half moons after _Sunset. _If you don't like AUs, best to leave now before reading the story.**

_A bitter storm raged over the land, attacking the forest with stinging flurries of ice and snow. No sane creature was out on a night like this. Of course, that didn't stop the calico queen that crouched in the shelter of a bush._

_"They say it is a blessing to be born in a storm little ones," the calico queen told her four newborn kittens, "especially in a storm of ice and snow." _

_Dara covered her kittens with her thick white and ginger tail, trying to shield them from the biting winds that bit their delicate bodies. Her amber eyes sadly looked over her kittens, all shivering with the biting cold as they nursed at their limited milk supply._

_Two she-cats. Two toms, Dara noted as she cleaned her children again. Three of them had black, brown and ginger patches on their fur like she did, if slightly paler. The other was as pure as freshly fallen snow, just like his father._

_"Bercan," she whispered to the night air. "Are you watching me and our children tonight? They are all precious and would have made you proud."_

_She snuggled closer to her kittens, trying to warm their frigid forms up with her own cooling body heat. The bush that she had sheltered in to give birth was no where near as warm as the Tunnels. If she had still been home she would've been comfortably nestled in a warm nest in the nursery, the other mothers helping her to deliver her offspring._

_But instead Dara was stuck in the freezing snows, nursing the four children of a dead cat. There was no place to seek the solace of a warm place to spend the night with the company of other cats. The scars that she now bore proclaimed her a traitor to all cats that happened upon her._

_When Bercan's plan to overthrow the cruel elders that ran the Tunnels had been revealed by a traitor, things had gone horribly wrong. All the loyal cats that had wanted to make life better for their friends and families had all been sentenced to death for an attempted usurpation. Only she had been spared and only because she had been pregnant with kits._

_"We shall not take innocent lives," Falon had said to her the night of her exile. "But you shall be banished and left for the First to decide your fate. You shall be marked as the traitor to warn all cats of your deeds and of the bastards you carry in you. No one shall help you or face the penalty of death."_

_So Dara had been thrown into the cold unknown to brave for herself and the unborn kits she carried, the only remembrance she had of her slain mate. Even as emaciated and pitiful as she was, all possible helpful cats had been turned away by the three scars on her face. All were too afraid of the elders' swift punishment if they were caught helping a traitor._

_Only the First had been merciful to her, guiding her tired paws away from familiar territory and into the lands where no one knew of the Hillcats. Dara had travelled away from the exposed hills and into the hiding shadows of the trees. But even the massive guardians of this forest couldn't keep the cold teeth of winter away._

_Food had been scarce, even for a resourceful Hillcat. Shelter had also been a problem, for all the hideaways under the tree roots had still been open to the elements. Most of her kits weren't going to survive, Dara knew it._

_"Bercan," Dara pleaded to the dark sky up above, "please, watch over our little ones. I shall be joining you shortly." She looked over her four kittens, amber eyes settling upon the weakest one, a scrawny female._

_"Daughter, your name shall be Catrina. Pure. Tell your father I will be coming up soon." Dara gently bit down on Catrina's neck, silencing her weak cries._

_Her eyes next settled upon her other daughter who had the stench of sickness about her, no doubt from the snow. "Don't worry, little one, I shall end your suffering. Your name is Myrna. Beloved. Please tell Catrina I am sorry." Another soft bite to end a doomed life._

_Dara moved to her sons, choosing the scrawniest that had been born deaf. "Little one," she said to her son, "although you cannot hear me in life, I pray you can hear me now to deliver my message. Your name is Shaw. Grove. Tell your sisters I love them dearly, as I love you." The calico queen repeated her mercy kill, sending all three of her children to a better place._

_The queen picked up her last kit, the single white tom, and moved him away from the bodies of his siblings and set him down on a warmer under the bush. She then scooped some snow into the bush, covering her three dead kits with the fine white powder._

_"Catrina. Myrna. Shaw. May you all rest in peace and know that I am sorry. I pray that the First shall guide you to the heavens where you three shall frolick in the stars forevermore."_

_Dara turned away, fighting back the overwhelming tide of maternal grief. She turned to her last kit, for although he shivered, showed a will for survival that his weaker siblings did not._

_"Son, I pray that you will remember my voice. Know that you are the son of Bercan, the brave cat that wanted only to liberate the Hillcats from the tyranny of the elders. He was murdered in cold blood at Falon's orders. But you still live, little one. You shall be the light in the darkness, the one that will one day lead the Hillcats to freedom. You are my little Solas. My little Light."_

_Dara picked up her kit up by the scruff, trying to ignore his heartwenching cries of hunger. 'I am sorry Solas', she thought sadly, 'but I have no more milk left. If you are to survive, it will be because the First loves you.'_

_Squinting her eyes against the stinging flurries, the calico she-cat set off into the freezing night, determined to find a better life for Solas. From the ache in her bones and the cold tendrils that grasped at her mind, trying to pull her into a black abyss, she knew her life was limited. Dara only fought this hard for her kit, then she would give in to death's welcome embrace to be with her beloved._

_00000_

_Rainwhisker cursed softly, moving his paws to warm up his frigid limbs. Trust Firestar to be enough of a mousebrain to not allow the night vigil to be cancelled for the coldest night of all leaf-bare. StarClan, what enemy would have enough bees in their brains to attack on a night like this? You couldn't see a pawstep in front of you and the freezing cold was enough to kill a cat._

_But no. The new deputy, Brambleclaw, just had to big the biggest mousebrain in the entire forest. _

_"Watch the camp entrance harder than ever Rainwhisker," he mimicked mockingly in the deputy's voice. "Go and freeze your tail off waiting for some nonexistent enemy while I remain all warm and happy inside the warrior's den thinking about how great I am compared to you."_

_Brambleclaw had a head that seriously needed to be deflated. Here was a cat that didn't even have his own apprentice at the time that was magically selected to become deputy when there were so many other better candidates._

_"Oh, just because I had a dream of a bunch of cats surrounded by claws growning on stupid brambles means you should be deputy, Brambleclaw," Rainwhisker grumbled in Leafpool's voice. "Let's not put a more capable cat in charge just because a bunch of dead cats said so."_

_Rainwhisker had to admit that he wasn't too sure if he believed in StarClan anymore. What kind of ancestors would allow Sootfur to die like that? Couldn't they have at least _tried _to save his brother's life? No, out of all the cats that could have been killed by the badgers, StarClan had taken the life of a young warrior and the medicine cat that was sorely needed after the attack._

_A sudden noise interrupted the gray cat's reflections. Lifting his head up, Rainwhisker saw a white, ginger, black and brown shape tumble down the slope in the direction towards camp. _

_'A cat?' wondered Rainwhisker as he abandoned his post to go and investigate. 'Why would any cat be out in a StarClan-forsaken storm like this?'_

_Rainwhisker leaned over the tortoiseshell cat, bending over to examine it. The cat was a her, he concluded after smelling her, just recently having given birth to kits. She was dead. No cat could be as cold as she was still be alive. Whomever she had been, the cat had wasn't from the Clans. Underneath the smells of kits and ice, just barely detectable, was the scent of earth, like she had been living in a burrow._

_Turning away from the body of the rogue, Rainwhisker scanned the area for any sight of the presumably dead kits that had also perished in the snows. Straining against the snowflakes, he saw a white shape lying limp near a tree trunk._

_Bending over to retrieve the dead kit, the night vigil's eyes widened in surprise as he heard the faint sound of a heartbeat just audible over the roar of a storm. Thinking fast Rainwhisker grabbed the kit and rushed into camp._

_"Leafpool! Leafpool!" he shouted through the tomkit's thick white fur. _

_0000_

_A deathly silence hung over the nursery as a ginger queen bent over her kits, her grief for her stillborn litter almost tangible. Brambleclaw buried his nose in Squirrelflight's fur, just as distraught over the death of the children he had never even known._

_"These things happen sometimes," Leafpool sighed as she looked over the three tiny bodies. "If a she-cat is especially young and is having her first litter, there is always a risk of these things happening."_

_Squirrelflight said nothing, just stared at her three kits with clouded green eyes. "Lionkit. Hollykit. Jaykit," she whispered softly._

_Her gaze flickered from the dead kits and up to where Sorreltail was calmly sleeping with her litter. She had turned her back on the gruesome sight, shielding her four kits from the horrible stench of blood and death. Daisy had left as soon as the first stillborn kit had been delivered, preferring to sleep with her three living apprenticed children than willingly remain in that den of death._

_'Why?' Squirrelflight growled silently as she laid eyes upon Sorreltail. A red tide of envy and rage had boiled up inside her as she glared longingly at the queen that seemed so at peace with her kits. 'Why do you get to be a mother and I don't? All I want to do is love my kits!' She turned back to Lionkit, Jaykit and Hollykit, weeping upon their bodies. 'StarClan, is my destiny to die of a broken heart?'_

_"Leafpool! Leafpool!" _

_The medicine cat looked away from her sister and into the frantic blue eyes of Rainwhisker and then to the small white kit that limply dangled in his jaws. He set it down and quickly explained, "His mother died at the camp entrance, Leafpool. He's all alone in the world as far as I know. But he needs a medicine cat."_

_"Thank you Rainwhisker," she calmly told the gray cat. "I believe I can handle this from here. Go back to your post. Squirrelflight, Brambleclaw," she turned to her sister and the deputy, voice calm despite the comotion, "Will you two please help warm this kit up?"_

_The ginger queen momentarily forgot her grief and focused on this tiny kit. Lionkit, Jaykit and Hollykit were gone, but this one was still here. She and Brambleclaw rubbed their paws against the tomkit, desperately trying to get some warmth backed into his body._

_"It worked," Brambleclaw gasped as the tiny kit began to shiver and cry weakly. He unconciously sought the comfort of his mother and burrowed into Squirrelflight's ginger fur, suckling._

_"He needs a mother," Leafpool said to her sister. "Will you be that cat?"_

_Brambleclaw looked down at the white tom and to his mate. "He can never replace our original kits," he told Squirrelflight. "But StarClan led this kit's mother to us for a reason. Perhaps we are meant to be his parents."_

_Squirrelflight looked down at the white kit and felt a wave of unconditional love wash over her. "Yes," she whispered so as not to break the sudden euphoric silence. "He will be our son, Brambleclaw. Our little kit."_

_"He needs a name," the dark tabby mewed. "Snowkit, perhaps?"_

_The ginger queen shook her head. "I would prefer not to give him a name linking him to the tragic death of his birth mother," she replied somewhat flatly. "Nor would Icekit work either."_

_Other names were also rejected, for none seemed to fit the kit. _

_'Come on,' she thought to her adopted son. 'Something has to fit you.'_

_Some name had to fit her little miracle. He was basically the hope in her despair, if she wanted to get all sentimental about it, the light in her darkness._

_"That's it," she meowed. "Lightkit."_

_Brambleclaw's amber eyes narrowed, mulling over the name. "Lightkit?" he repeated, not entirely taken by the idea. "Doesn't that sound a bit strange for our son? I want him to fit in and give him no reason that he's not a Clanborn cat."_

_"Come on, Brambleclaw," she protested. "He's a gift from StarClan. A little light in the darkness of mourning. Surely the name fits? Besides, his pelt is light-colored, too. His name isn't _that _strange afterall."_

_"It does seem to fit," Leafpool admitted. "I've known cats with stranger names than Lightkit and it certainly suits him better than Snowkit."_

_"All right," Brambleclaw conceded. "Lightkit it is." He nuzzled his mate and beamed down at his son with fatherly pride._

_Leafpool turned to the forgotten bodies and sighed. "Shall I bury the bodies, Brambleclaw?"_

_The dark tabby nodded. "No one needs to know about this Leafpool. As far as the rest of the Clan is concerned, Lightkit was the _only_ kit born tonight."_

_00000_

_All was quiet in ThunderClan again. Squirrelflight had fallen asleep with Lightkit and Leafpool had returned from the burial of the stillborns. Very few now knew of Lightkit's secret._

_'But there was still the matter of the birth mother's body', Brambleclaw thought. _

_With all of the unconditional love he felt for Lightkit upon saving him from death, came the unresistable urge to protect his offspring. Anything threatening was to be immediatly dealt with to make sure Lightkit had as normal as a kithood as possible._

_Brambleclaw padded past Rainwhisker, silencing the warrior's unasked questions with a commanding glare. The chilling cold and the stinging flakes did not bother him, the warmth from the love of Lightkit and Squirrelflight was enough comfort for him._

_"Thank you," he breathed into the dead she-cat's ear, siezing her frozen body by the scruff and carrying her off into the forest. As he set about to burying the tortoiseshell, Brambleclaw idly wondered about this she-cat. Why had she journeyed so far with a newborn kit? Why did she have no scars except for these three black marks across her face?_

_Well, who ever she was was dead and gone. Her soul was now journeying to wherever rogues went when they died. Brambleclaw finished with her grave, burying the memory of Lightkit's rogue mother and all thoughts of the stillborn litter with her._

_Now there was the matter of Lightkit's cover story to attend. As far as ThunderClan, including Firestar, knew, Lightkit was his and Squirrelflight's one and only kit, no questions asked. No one deemed unworthy would know and eventually the secret would die with him._

_Squirrelflight knew, of course, and no doubt Leafpool could be trusted as well. Sorreltail and her kits had been sleeping and Daisy would've assumed that Lightkit was the only survivor of the litter. But then there was Rainwhisker._

_'No doubt he'll tell Firestar about Lightkit and his birth mother,' Brambleclaw thought. 'All chance at Lightkit at having a completely normal, unbiased life would be ruined!' _

_There was no way to keep the gray tom quiet forever. Once it got out that the deputy had been forcing a warrior to keep quiet, big punishment from the wrathful Firestar would follow. Yes, there was only one way to finish his task._

_"Rainwhisker!" he barked roughly as soon as camp came back into view. "Come with me."_

_The gray tom's eyes bulged in surprise and he shivered. "Why?" he asked hoarsely, throat sore from being out in the blizzard for so long._

_"To do a border patrol of course," Brambleclaw replied tersely. "ShadowClan might decide to attack tonight. There's enough coverage for them to sneak right up to the camp entrance undetected until it is too late."_

_"But I'm already watching the camp entrance," Rainwhisker complained. "Couldn't you just get some fresher warriors to help instead, like your apprentice?"_

_"Berrypaw's too young to deal with a cold night like this and I am not going to wake the other warriors and risk their wrath. You're already up and ready to go. Besides," Brambleclaw's eyes narrowed menacingly, "you're not going to deny a direct order from Firestar, are you?"_

_Rainwhisker bit back the next protest with a gulp of terror and quickly hurried off behind the deputy, cursing as his frostbitten paws sunk deeper into the snow as they trudged to the ShadowClan border. He only kept himself going with thoughts of the tender rabbit and the warm nest that was waiting for him back at camp._

_"Warm food, warm nest. Warm food, warm nest," he repeated quietly. He was too absorbed in trying to keep walking, that he didn't notice the deputy's sharp claws unsheathing or the cold light in his amber eyes._

_Rainwhisker never made it back to his warm nest._

**And so, that concludes the prologue. **

**Brambleclaw's finally showing some of his father's cruel calculating ways at last. A father will do anything to protect his child, right? Also that's sort of my version of Rainwhisker's mysterious death.**

**On the matter concerning Dara and the Hillcats, all their names are in Gaelic, a language used in the northern parts of Great Britain. Everything about the rebellion, the First, the Tunnels, and Bercan will be explained in time so keep reading.**

**For those interested here are the other translations for the Gaelic names.**

**Dara: mother-of-pearl**

**Bercan: spear**

**Falon: leader**


	2. Chapter 1: Lightkit's Life

**Okay everyone, here's the next chapter to _Heart of Ice_. Due to some criticism on the last chapter's slightly gory feel, I'll be including warnings for anything that might be upsetting to some readers.**

**Warning: Includes near-death experience**

_Intruder! Intruder in the nursery_! his senses screamed. He prowled closer and sneaked a look into the entrance. Good. The intruder had been so confident of her success she had fallen asleep right in the open.

Carefully, ever so carefully, he crept closer, making sure not to wake the intruder. Close enough, he bent down to deliver the bite that would save the kits. All it would take was that one little bite. Almost there...

"What do you think you're doing?" Squirrelflight cracked open one green eye and looked at Lightkit.

Her son gulped and backed away, ears pressing low to his head. "Playing," he answered quickly.

"Playing 'attack the intruder' again?" Squirrelflight asked. Lightkit nodded. "Lightkit," she scolded. "Don't you remember the last time you tried to play that game?"

"I know, I know," the white tomcat huffed. "Ferncloud nearly sliced me in two for pouncing on her kits. They deserved it though."

"Lightkit," sighed his mother. "You're almost an apprentice. Can't you start learning to act like one and keep out of my fur for more than a heartbeat?"

"But I'm not an apprentice yet," he pointed out. "That means I have to enjoy whatever time I have left to do all sorts of fun things before my mentor can punish me for it."

The ginger she-cat sighed and shook her head in exasperation. "Can you at least go and play outside?" his mother asked. "You're going to wake up Foxkit and Icekit if you continue all this romping about."

"Fine," Lightkit conceded sulkily and trudged outside, glaring at the napping kits as he passed by. Once out in camp, however, his sour mood was quickly forgotten as he spotted the sunhigh patrol coming in. He raced up, dancing around the warriors' paws.

"Hello Molepaw. Hello Hazelpaw," he greeted his two apprentice friends. "Bring back anything good today?"

Hazelpaw shook her head. "It was a border patrol mousebrain," she replied teasingly. "Dustpelt just wanted us to mark the borders. You know how he hates to dawdle on border patrol, especially with a fox and her kits lurking about."

"Cloudtail didn't find the burrow yet?" Lightkit asked fearfully, remembering all the horrible tales Mousefur and Longtail had told him about foxes ripping apart young kits in excruciating detail.

Molepaw shrugged, rolling his dark tabby shoulders. "Not even the best tracker in the Clan can find this fox's den," he meowed grimly. "StarClan just had to give us the craftiest predator this side of the forest to deal with."

Lightkit nodded, looking up into the apprentice's blue eyes. Molepaw had been massive and muscular, even larger than Berrypaw, the oldest apprentice in the Clan. But even his strength hadn't even been able to prevent the harsh outbreak of greencough that had nearly claimed his life a while back. To this day, the stench of sickness still lingered on his pelt.

"It doesn't matter though," Hazelpaw added quickly, trying to calm down what she thought was Lightkit's horrible fear of foxes. "If Firestar chased off whole packs of dogs and even an army of badgers, than he can surely chase an old fox and her defenseless kits."

"Whatever," Lightkit interrupted, suddenly bored of the drawling conversation that the apprentices often rambled on about. "Can we play a game or something?" he begged. "Icekit and Foxkit are no fun to play with. They just lay around napping all day."

"Sorry squirt." Molepaw gave the younger cat's head an apologizing rub, oblivious to the furious glare of hatred and indignation that almost scorched his tabby pelt. "Boring old Ashfur wants me cleaning up the elders' den." He made a gagging noise, wincing just at the mention of changing the soiled bedding.

"Lucky you," Hazelpaw meowed brightly. "Firestar says Berrypaw, Mousepaw and I are going out on an assessment. He said that if we did a good enough job, and if our mentors agree to it, we might be made warriors!"

The other apprentice opened his mouth to drawl a retort, but a sudden bark from Ashfur sent him hurrying away. Hazelpaw bid Lightkit goodbye and quickly hurried over to where her brothers and their mentors were waiting for her.

"Stupid apprentices, stupid Clan," Lightkit muttered under his breath, batting a pebble close to his paw. "There's nothing to do around here."

"There's always something to do," Brackenfur replied, who happened to hear his conversation. The unexpected answer made Lightkit squeal and whirl around in surprise. He bent down and whispered into the kit's ear, "Between you and me, I heard that Firestar's hungry and dying for something to eat."

"Thank you Brackenfur," Lightkit called as he raced over to the freshkill pile, looking for something to satisfy his grandfather. Selecting a plump vole, he darted over to the rocky steps that led to the leader's den and began to scramble up it, ignoring the sharp pebbles that dug into his paws.

Panting from the exhausting climb, Lightkit allowed himself to rest for a bit before picking up his dropped vole and padding into his grandfather's den. "Firestar," he announced. "I got you something to eat."

The ginger tom looked up from where he was cleaning his paws and purred in delight as he saw the white tomkit, and most importantly, the succulent prey he wielded in his jaws. "Thank you Lightkit," he meowed, taking the vole from the kit's jaws. "But wasn't Brackenfur supposed to bring me my meal?"

"He said I could do it because I was so bored," explained Lightkit. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling of the den. "There's nothing to do here in camp aside from bugging the warriors who always yell at me or fall asleep listening to the elders babble on about the good old days."

Firestar purred in amusement, taking a big bite of the vole. "Welcome to camp life," he joked. "Just look at it this way; only a few more days until you're made an apprentice."

"Couldn't you make me an apprentice now?" Lightkit begged. "I could work extra hard and clean the elders for the whole day and-"

"Lightkit," Firestar gently interuppted. "I'm sorry, but I just can't make you an apprentice until you're six moons old." He sighed and gently led the kit out of his den. "Please, stop begging me to do it, like you have been for the past six moons."

The white kit snarled at the lichen curtain that shielded the leader from view, impatience burning his veins. '_All I want to do is just to have some fun,' _he thought. _'What's the harm in that?'_

As he climbed down the ledge, Lightkit reviewed all options for entertainment, turning each down with an inward hiss of disgust. Hang around Leafpool? No, then she'd think he'd want to be her apprentice. Go back in the nursery? No, that would just make Ferncloud mad. Sneak out of camp and explore the forest by himself?

He paused, allowing the idea to sink in. That was it! He would sneak out of camp and go find the foxes by himself. Once he found the foxes Firestar would have no choice but to reward him by making him an apprentice.

Lightkit looked around camp, searching for a way out. ThunderClan's camp was built within a gorge, the only official way out was through the camp entrance were cats systematically passed in and out through all times. No doubt someone would see him try to leave camp through that way.

So he padded along the perimeter of the camp's walls, trying to discretely find a way out while pretending to be playing incase Squirrelflight was watching him. He circled the camp three times, but found no way out.

"Figures," he whispered to himself as he gave up and went to go make dirt. "Nothing's ever as easy as it was for the elders." He went to the dirt area behind the nursery, squinting his eyes as he saw a hidden exit shielded behind some brambles.

With a quick prayer of thanks to StarClan, Lightkit looked around. Seeing that the coast was clear, he quickly began to force himself through the brambles. The thorns grasped at his pelt like claws, an unknown force trying to hold him back.

Something behind him snapped and suddenly Lightkit was thrown out of camp. The familiar sounds and scents of a busy area were instantly with the fresh scents of the forest and the quiet singing of the birds. Lightkit grinned and breathed in deeply, getting the horrid smells of the dirt area out of his lungs.

He remained crouched in his hiding place in some nearby bushes, watching as Thornclaw led a patrol out, no doubt to search again for the fox's burrow. Lightkit waited until they were long gone before setting off on his own, keeping well away from any scents of cat and wandering deep into the untraveled part of the territory.

_'Watch yourself,' _he reminded himself strictly as a twig cracked beneath his paws. No doubt any creature would hear him coming from miles away. His white pelt was already enough of a giveaway in this shadowy green world, no need make himself more noticeable by stomping through the forest.

Lightkit padded on, taking great care to walk quietly. His nose constantly sniffed the air like he watched the warriors do, looking for the crowfood stench of the foxes he had scented on the patrollers' pelts.

Success. Lightkit proceeded forward more cautiously, trying not to gag on the stench that rapidly grew stronger as he crept closer to the fox burrow. He crouched in a bramble bush, watching as the fox kits scuffled outside of their den.

His mission done, Lightkit took a mental image of the area to tell to Firestar when he returned to camp and prepared to leave. Too engrossed in his success, a careless paw snapped another twig and the foxes suddenly went rigid, no doubt scenting the air for his smell.

Insane growling and barking began to sound around him as four fox cubs, each at least twice his minuscule size, began to pound after him.

Everything was a blur as Lightkit raced through the forest, trying to retrace his scent back to the safety of his camp. The whole time he was aware of the milky scent of the foxes that pursued him, their sharp teeth itching to sink into his flesh.

So this was how it was going to end? Just because of a stupid whim to do something exciting he was going to be prey to a bunch of hungry foxes. All dreams of dying a glorious death in battle were ruined as powerful jaws nearly closed on his hind leg. He would die a cowardly death running through the forest, unable to turn and fight for the sake of his very life.

_'Almost there!' _was his single desperate thought as his charged through the bushes and the familiar scents of camp began to surround him. If he could just go a little farther...

Too far! So absorbed in the chase, Lightkit had hurried farther north and was close to the ravine that suddenly dropped into camp. He charged over the very same ledge that had almost killed his mother as an apprentice, unable to stop, and crashed to the sharp rocks below.

A sudden pain on the back of his head was all he felt before tumbling into darkness.

_Agony. It was so great all he wanted to do was leave his fiery home of a body and enter the dark void of death. Feeling nothing was better than feeling this raging inferno of pain._

_"Hang on," a soft voice whispered. A white paw brushed against his face and gentle amber eyes peered down into his own. "Stay alive my little light. Help is on the way. Hang on, Solas. Just hang on."_

_Another ripple of pain that made him want to jump out of his body. But the white paw held him down and the amber eyes kept him tethered to the agony, to life itself. "Shush, little Solas. Sleep."_

_The pain was suddenly gone, but he was not yet dead. Lightkit closed his eyes and allowed the black tide of sleep to overwhelm him, the voice still ringing in his ears as he fell asleep._

_"My little light. My little Solas."_

0000

Leafpool hunched over the body of her adopted nephew, determined to keep him from StarClan at whatever the cost. Squirrelflight had nearly died when she lost her own stillborn kits, and there was no way her sister was about to let her lose her adopted one.

Poultices of broom for broken bones, poultices of horsetail to stop infection from open wounds, cobwebs to ease the bleeding. Leafpool had used every herb abd trick she knew to help keep Lightkit alive. Now it was entirely up to him.

While Squirrelflight wept and Brambleclaw sat beside her, a barrier to help keep the pain away, unseen paws helped to guide Leafpool. Spottedleaf sat beside her again, just like when Reedpaw's life needed saving, helping to guide her every step of the way.

"Excellant job Leafpool," the former medicine cat praised, the scent of burdock leaf hanging in the air. "Lightkit will surive, all thanks to you."

Spottedleaf vanished just as easily as she had arrived, leaving Leafpool with her patient, Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw. But another presence also hung in the air, a gentle scent of warm earth combined with the warm milky scents of a queen.

_"Hang on," _a soft voice murmured. _"Hold on, my little one."_

The medicine cat's head shot up, bewildered. She wildly looked around for a starry peek of Lightkit's birth mother, catching a quick glimpse of a tortoiseshell and white shape by his side before disappearing, her scent lingering in the air for a moment longer.

Lightkit groaned and began to stir, amber eyes cracking open slightly.

_"Come to the Moonpool upon the night of the half moon and find me, Leafpool of ThunderClan," _the she-cat's voice whispered in her ear. _"You and I have much to discuss."_

**So that's the first chapter of _Heart of Ice_, a little bit shorter than the prologue, I must admit. Don't worry, it'll be longer next chapter.**

**Yes, Molepaw's alive and Ashfur is his mentor. I left him alive for a good reason, too. I know this chapter sounded familiar to the beginning of the _Sight, _but I'm trying to make this story ring true as much as I can to canon before we steer way off into the AU-verse.**


	3. Chapter 2: Leafpool's Dream

Lightkit felt tiny underneath Brambleclaw's scorching amber gaze and he looked down at his paws, wishing he could crawl under a rock to escape his father's silent glare.

"Lightkit," Brambleclaw began, his tone firmer than ever. "What were you thinking? You broke the warrior code, made your mother frantic with worry and nearly killed yourself!" He bent low, his eyes seeming to bore holes in his son's pelt. "Do you know what you did? The mother fox and her offspring are scattered all over the territory now!"

"I'm sorry," he whispered, tears threatening to leak from his eyes. "I was just trying to be a good warrior, like you dad."

"You're only a kit," Brambleclaw growled. "Kits aren't expected to wander around the forest looking for trouble. You were almost killed, Lightkit. Killed! During that fall you could have broken your neck or shattered your skull." He shook his head disgustedly. "I'm seriously thinking on asking Firestar to prolong your apprenticeship ceremony!"

"Dad, no! Please," Lightkit begged, the tears beginning to fall.

Brambleclaw sighed. "I don't know what to do with you, Lightkit. No punishment seems to work with you. StarClan forbid your arrogance kills you." He rubbed his head fiercely against Lightkit's shoulder, as if to confirm that he wasn't a ghost. "I just don't know what I would do I would ever lose you."

"Brambleclaw," Squirrelflight nuzzled her mate, gently pulling him away. "You're needed outside for Berrypaw's warrior ceremony. Go on. I'll go and talk to Lightkit."

When the dark tabby hesitated, his mate sighed and nearly shoved him out of Firestar's den. She turned to Lightkit, her green eyes just as intense as Brambleclaw's. "I'll talk to your father about allowing you to have your apprenticeship ceremony on time," she promised. "StarClan knows those wounds are punishment enough for you. But," she added, seeing the relieved look on her son's face, "you're still being punished. Your father and I agree on you staying in camp all day long on your first day as an apprentice."

Lightkit opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it. "Good," Squirrelflight purred. "Come on, trouble-maker, let's go out and watch the warrior ceremony."

The ceremony was almost done, as ThunderClan was already chanting the new warriors' names. "Hazeltail. Mousewhisker. Berrynose. Hazeltail. Mousewhisker. Berrynose."

Lightkit watched in envy as the Clan surrounded the three cats, congratulating them and showering them with attention. One day that would be him up there, making his parents proud. One day soon, he vowed.

0000

A half moon hung in the sky, reminding Leafpool of her important task tonight. She hastily padded out of camp, nodding to the new warriors standing silent vigil, and set off into the night.

Lightkit's cobwebs had needed changing shortly before her departure and now the medicine cat was bitterly late for her half moon visit with the Moonpool. And it was also the night she was to finally share tongues with Lightkit's mysterious birth mother and hopefully find out some much needed answered regarding his past.

The medicine cat entered the familiar oasis that was the Moonpool, her fur suddenly feeling hot as the others eyed her oddly.

"Well," Littlecloud joked, "for the first time in the history of the Moonpool, a medicine cat has been late for the half-moon meeting."

Kestrelpaw coughed, shaking his light brown head. "That's not funny," he meowed.

Barkface silenced his apprentice with a look. "Leafpool probably had a patient to take care of." She nodded gratefully, unable to speak in her embarrassment. "But let's stop arguing, we're wasting moonlight."

The brown tabby she-cat looked down at her paws, aware of Willowpaw's questioning green eyes following her. She took her spot beside Mothwing, her friend's comforting presence helping to calm her nerves.

Leafpool bent down, taking in the sweet water of the Moonpool. A familiar icy darkness surged up around her, the scents of ice and all the wild places of the night rising up to greet her.

The medicine cat opened her amber eyes to the familiar forests of StarClan. She got up, looking around for the tortoiseshell and white shape of Lightkit's birth mother.

"Hello?" she called out. "Didn't you want to see me?"

Something rustled in the bushes behind her and the amused purrs of kits and the scampering of paws followed as it darted away, a starry little shadow. Leafpool breathed in, scenting a familiar smell highlighted the scents of a StarClan cat.

"Come on out," she told the little shadow. "I know your there."

A young kit's head of about four moons popped out of the foliage, watching Leafpool with sparkling green eyes. Two other heads, one gray and one golden brown, appeared beside her.

"Hollykit? Jaykit? Lionkit?" Leafpool's breath caught in her throat, staring wide-eyed at the stillborn niece and nephews she had failed to save. She suddenly felt very afraid of these three innocent kits and backed away, fur beginning to bristle.

Jaykit nodded, shoving his brother away as he scampered out of the bushes. "There's no need to be afraid of us you know," he meowed calmly. "We're not angry or anything like that."

Lionkit got to his paws, fixing his amber gaze on Leafpool. "It's not your fault we're here in StarClan. We died while still inside Mother." His nose wrinkled as he struggled to recall, "I think Spottedleaf told us that we strangled on our umbilical cords...or something like that."

"But why are you all older?" she asked. "You're all supposed to be newborns and not able to talk or see-" she broke off, aware of Jaykit's suddenly icy jay-feather glare.

"It's one of the rules of being dead," Hollykit explained, brushing against the medicine cat in an attempt to soothe her fears. "Whenever a cat dies, it can appear as any age it was or could have been as alive, but only if any living cats of the same age are that age. For example, a six-month-old apprentice dies and only two months have passed since his death, he can appear as a maximum of eight-moons-old."

Leafpool nodded. "That makes sense...I guess. But why are you three here? I'm looking for Lightkit's mother."

"We're supposed to be guiding you to the border of StarClan," Jaykit explained, the indignant tone in his voice still there. "She's not allowed in this territory, so the leaders decided to send someone that you were close to in life. Apparently that's us." His blue eyes glittered impishly as he added, "But since you seem to insult my abilities, perhaps I should leave you here until you wake up."

"Jaykit!" Hollykit admonished, batting her brother across the ear. She turned to her aunt, face apologetic. "Excuse Jaykit, apparently he inherited Father's hothead. Maybe we should just show you to StarClan's border before all the moonlight is wasted."

Leafpool nodded gratefully. "That would be excellent, thank you very much Hollykit, Lionkit and Jaykit."

Lionkit turned around, waving his tail eagerly, before rushing off into the starry forest. Hollykit quickly followed, tugging Leafpool along with her. Jaykit brought up the rear, muttering something about mousebrained she-cats.

Tired of the run, the golden brown tomcat allowed his sister to take the lead, falling in beside Leafpool. Jaykit trotted ahead of him, purposefully turning away from Leafpool with his tiny gray tail held high.

"You don't have to be sorry us you know," he said to Leafpool.

The medicine cat jumped. "What?"

"You don't have to feel sorry for us being, well you know, _dead," _Lionkit repeated. "There was nothing you could do to prevent this Leafpool. StarClan chose for us to join their ranks early, and none of us resent that. It's actually not that bad up here."

"Thanks," Leafpool meowed. She leaned in closer, whispering into her nephew's ear, "Is there any way to apologize to your brother? It sort of slipped my mind that Jaykit would've been born blind."

Lionkit sighed. "Jaykit's always been sensitive about being blind. He wished to be a warrior if he had lived, but the only future for him outside of the elders' den was being your apprentice. He might be easy to insult, but don't worry, he'll come around quickly."

"You know," Leafpool teased, "you sure are wise for being a kit."

The tomcat laughed. "Well, dying and learning all the secrets of the world sort of does that to you." He rolled his eyes. "If you think I'm bad, wait 'till you get to really know Hollykit. She gets any chance to share her infinite knowledge about the Clans to any poor living medicine cat that's unfortunate to stumble upon her. Honestly, she drove away Willowpaw one time while blathering on about the past of RiverClan."

Hollykit stopped, turning around to meet her siblings. "We're at the edge of StarClan's territory," she announced. "My brothers and I can go no further."

Leafpool purred gratefully, bidding her and Lionkit good-bye. Jaykit padded up, bashfully looking down at his paws. "Sorry about being so cold to you earlier," he muttered. He looked up. "To meet the cats that will finish guiding you the rest of the way, just head straight. Believe me, you'll know the guides when you see them."

"Thank you," she told her sister's litter. She began to pad away, waving her tail in farewell. "I'll come back to visit soon," she promised. "And Hollykit can share all the secrets of the past she wants."

The calls of good-bye from the three kits gradually faded as Leafpool ventured deeper into unexplored territory. She was aware that the trees were slowly growing few and farther between, the gently sloped land giving away to rolling hills.

"_Well,_ it's about time you got here," scolded a voice from behind her. "I thought it would take another moon for you to show up."

Leafpool turned around, coming face to face with a tortoiseshell and white she-cat of Lightkit's age. Her presumed siblings sat beside her, one male and one female. "I'm Catrina," the kit continued. "My sister is Myrna and my brother is Shaw."

Shaw nodded. "We were charged with guiding you the rest of the way to Mom." Seeing Leafpool's shocked face he hastily added, "To answer your question Leafpool of ThunderClan, yes. My sisters and I are Sol- Lightkit's- siblings."

Myrna bounced around impatiently. "Can we just get on with it already?" she begged. "I can't stand waiting any longer."

Leafpool nodded, allowing Myrna to race ahead, closely followed by Catrina, who shouted for her to slow down. Shaw padded alongside the ThunderClan cat, his pelt almost brushing hers.

"It won't be long," he assured. "Knowing Mom, she'll just be over the horizon."

The medicine cat blinked in response, not trusting herself to speak. Jaykit had become upset when she had brought up his former blindness, and she didn't want to accidentally mentioned something about the freezing death these three kits must have suffered in the snows so many moons ago.

Leafpool noticed that the remainder of StarClan's unbroken forest was replaced by warm, rolling green hills that were covered with plump rabbits that practically begged to be caught. StarClan's eternal night gave way to a gentle dawn and then a blue sky dotted by a few clouds that seemed much closer in this afterlife than in the waking world. Cats raced along the slopes, all of them lithe and nimble.

With her somewhat stocky build common the forest-dwelling ThunderClan cats, the medicine cat suddenly felt self-concious among these strange cats that all strongly reminded her of WindClan, althought they were even smaller and faster.

"Mom!" Myrna sprang on a tortoiseshell and white queen that seemed like a much darker and larger image of herself. Catrina hung back, eyeing her livelier sister with disapproval. Shaw abandoned Leafpool's side and joined Myrna in her play.

"Hello, little ones," the queen cooed. She brushed muzzles with her kits, purring tenderly while cleaning the dirt away from their faces. The queen ushered her kits away, smiling as she watched them race over the hill. She looked up, fixing Leafpool with eyes identical to Lightkit's. "Greetings, Leafpool of ThunderClan. I am Dara of the Hillcats, mate to Bercan."

"It is a pleasure to finally mate you, Dara," Leafpool said respectfully. "I believed you wanted to talk to me about Lightkit."

"Lightkit?" Dara's eyes clouded for a moment then she chuckled. "Ah, I guess that is the _Clan's_name for my son. I named him Solas."

"Solas," Leafpool echoed, sounding confused. "Such strange names you all have."

"They may sound strange to a Clancat," the she-cat replied, "but all of the Hillcats are given names in Gaelic, the language of our ancestors. It was decreed by the First and will always be so, until the stars fall from the sky."

The medicine cat hated being so unknowing, for being so ignorant in the eyes of this loner. So she nodded, pretending she understood half of what Dara had said.

"I forget, the Clancats do not have a Creator." Dara smacked her head with a paw. "The First is who we the Hillcats believe to be the first cat. He created everything in the world, to the clear blue skies to the rolling hills of our territory. But enough of discussing how I lived when I was alive, I have brought you hear to tell you something of great importance about Solas, sorry, Lightkit."

The tortoiseshell and white cat's warm amber eyes suddenly became serious. "Bercan, my mate, led a rebellion when he was alive. His goal was to free the Hillcats from the tyranny of the elders that ruled over us with an iron claw. They had absolute say in everything. Anyone who thought differently was taken care of to 'purge the unworthy.' Unfortunately, a spy was in our midst and the rebellion failed. Bercan and all his loyal followers were murdered. I was only allowed to leave because I was pregnant with kits. But even then I was exiled and left for the foxes to take."

"I travelled for moons alone without any help. Any cat that was seen helping a traitor was to be sentenced to death, by the elders' decree. Evantually I gave birth at the far northern border of your territory. The night was so cold, so unforgiving, and I knew that neither I nor most of my kits would survive. So I took the only with a fighting chance and freed the others from their suffering."

Silence followed for a long moment as Leafpool processed what Dara had told her. A cold pit of horror sunk into her stomach and she backed away, fur bristling in fright. "You killed your own kits!"

Dara's eyes glittered coldly and she unsheathed her claws. "My kits were dying in the cold and I could only save one of them!" she snarled. "Catrina had been born weak and wouldn't have made it to her first moon, even if she had made it out of the snows. Myrna had caught a fever and would've died of it even if you were there to help. Little Shaw had been deaf, cursed to a life of lounging in your elders' den in eternal silence." She quieted, her claws sheathing again. "Tell me, Leafpool of ThunderClan, would have you condemned your kits to that kind of suffering?"

Leafpool glared at the she-cat for the longest time, before finally sighing and sitting back down. "No," she sighed. "I would've let them pass on without trying to hold them back." But even though she reluctantly agreed, she sat farther away from Dara, her eyes no longer trusting.

_'You're a monster,' _she thought coldly. _'What kind of mother murders her own kits, weak and helpless as they were?'_

"Good," said Dara. "Besides, you have not come to muddle in matters that have come and gone. When Solas showed he had an inner fire that refused to be dampered even in the coldest of nights, I knew his purpose in life. For the first and final time I spoke aloud to Solas, I gave him a great destiny. He would be the one to follow in Bercan's pawsteps. Solas would be the light of hope and redemption to the Hillcats. He would be their saviour."

"I do not care about your final words to the kit you refused to murder as well," Leafpool replied icily. "My sister and her mate care deeply for Lightkit. Their own litter were born dead. I will not just allow their final kit to wander off into parts unknown will he will surely face death like your foolish mate. StarClan won't allow it."

Dara barked a humourless laugh. "You talk as if you hold the power of the stars in your paws." Leafpool felt a tremble of recognition as she remembered the prophecy that StarClan had whispered to her long ago. "That prophecy has come and gone, like my and my kits' lives, but Solas's destiny still stands strong. The First guides all the Hillcats, born in exile or not. No matter how hard you try, none can alter what has been written in the stars. Somehow or some way, Solas will take his destiny."

"I called you hear so that you may pass on this message to my son when the time is right," Dara continued, her and the rolling green hills disappearing as Leafpool began to wake. "Tell none of what transpired tonight and only tell Solas that he shall follow his father's pawsteps. And please, say that his mother loved him with all her heart." Everything went black as Dara's final words rang in her head. "Farewell, Leafpool of ThunderClan."

The other medicine cats were stirring as well when Leafpool opened her eyes to greet the waking realm. She got up, stretching out her sore muscles. Mothwing yawned contentedly, no doubt having enjoyed another nap. Barkface got up, his face passive but his eyes troubled. Littlecloud and Willowpaw shared the same looks, their tails lashing worriedly.

"Such an ominous dream tonight," Littlecloud murmured grimly.

Willowpaw gaped. "Then you had it, too."

"What dream?" Kestrelpaw demanded. Obviously only the medicine cats, and not their apprentices, had received this dream.

"A dream of blood staining the ground with a bone-colored cat standing over a wasteland of the dead and the dying," Barkface meowed. _"Beware of the cat with the Heart of Ice."_

Leafpool shivered, the words feeling like eyes on her fur. She had been too absorbed in walking the Hillcats' territory to have this important dream from StarClan. Had Dara purposefully called her to her territory in order to prevent her from sharing tongues with StarClan.

_'It doesn't matter,' _Leafpool told herself sternly, walking back in the direction of ThunderClan with Littlecloud. _'You know that Lightkit has been destined for something that you won't let him. StarClan, I swear that I won't allow Squirrelflight's and Brambleclaw's hearts to be broken like that.'_

She gazed up at Silverpelt, seeking solace in the familiar heavens. But while the stars glittered as coldly and impassively as before, as to reassure her of their dominace, a wind blew through the trees.

_"Destiny, destiny, destiny," _it whispered in what she believed was Dara's voice.

**So that's the end of another chapter of _Heart of Ice. _The occasional visit from Jaykit, Lionkit and Hollykit will show up from time to time. Next chapter things will hopefully begin to pick up.**


End file.
